next story

Damon Wayans Jr. Is Returning to New Girl and More Earth-Shattering Changes Coming to Your Favorite Shows

This might seem like a quiet time for TV (you know, outside of Camp spinning us in nostalgic happy-circles), but behind the scenes there's a-plenty of action. Actors are booking splashy arcs—and making quiet exits—and generally getting their schedules set for the upcoming season.

And now that the moves are starting to leak, we gotta get you updated on a few major changes coming to your favorite shows. Not all of 'em are happy updates, I have to be honest. Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Mix it all together like a news salad? Sure, happy to.

5) Damon Wayans Jr. is this close to returning to New Girl. Once in a while, an awkward thing happens—an actor shoots a couple of pilots and both of them go forward. That's what happened back when Happy Endings and New Girl were greenlit; Wayans was in both, but had committed to HE first, so that's where he had to go. You might remember how deftly New Girl handled this—essentially "Coach," Wayans' character, moved out, and Winston (Lamorne Morris) took his place. The great thing about how realistically the show coped—rather than just pulling a Look Over Here, No Need to Notice It's Not the Same Guy! in episode two—means that now the door is open for Coach to be written back into the show. And Wayans is reportedly in negotiations to bring just such an arc to life.

4) Cote de Pablo is leaving NCIS. I'm so sorry, NCIS fans. There's no way to sugarcoat this. Ziva is irreplaceable. But after eight years on the show, Cote is walking away. Small comfort: She will appear in the beginning of next season so that the show can give Ziva a proper sendoff. You'll get your closure.

3) This:

I am thrilled to announce that the super-talented Adam Lambert is joining the cast of Glee this fall.

Glee has one of the best-oiled revolving doors in television right now, so I greet 80 percent of its casting announcements with a resounding eh. But this feels right—or it feels right for the moment. I'll reserve final judgment until I hear who he's playing. Here's hoping it's someone in New York, preferably a bad boy of Broadway, which would get us closer to my goal of simply merging Glee and Smash into a supershow called Smee.

2) Chris Carmack has been upped to regular on Nashville. Get ready for more of the multilayered, super-ambitious cowboy guitarist—and the further complications he'll inevitably bring for Scarlett and Gunnar. On a show full of heavyweights and quick-moving drama, Chris really broke out, and I'm so happy we're getting more of him next season.

1) Donald Glover is leaving Community—kind of. Ever the roller-coaster entity, Community is hitting us with high-low news this summer: Yes, Dan Harmon is officially rejoining the show (which was limping along without him, it has to be said). Hooray, a creative boon! But now comes a casting blow: Glover will reportedly only appear in five out of the next season's 13 episodes. If this was a Community episode, everyone could just work overtime making him feel special, setting the stage for a rousing Jeff Winger speech that would turn Troy right back around. But if the reports are to be believed, the ink is dry on this one—and Glover's chair at the study group table will spend most of the season empty.

What do you make of these developments?

Photo: NBC, ABC, CBS

ADVERTISEMENT

Megan AngeloEntertainment writer. I love talking about TV so much, you'll eventually back slowly away from me at a party.